In a World of Their Own
by WhistyRose
Summary: (pre-fates) (OC Corrin) A series of one-shots about life in the northern fortress. Chapter 4 is a note.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Hello Readers! This will be an intertwined series of oneshots that will vary in length. I apologise for this first short chapter and I'll try to make my following chapters longer then this but, this is a start! So huzzah! Onwards to Fates!

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Gunter had no idea what would happen with this new position he had been placed into but the last thing he'd ever expect was what was to come. He met Iago at the entrance of the northernmost fortress in Nohr and followed him on the tour that he provided the knight with. The very last stop was at the highest room of the tower. Iago stopped before the door to open it. It was unlike the other doors that they had passed by. The door was heavy and made of iron with a small flap near the bottom and a slide near eye height of an average man. Gunter hadn't been told of what this fortress held only that it held something. The door opened and produced a squeal from disuse but from what Gunter saw from his peripherals it was a warning to the inhabitant here that whoever it was should stay out of sight.

"Come out, little rat!" the mage yelled. A small form trembled beneath an old bed frame. Iago strode over to the bundle and ripped the blanket from the top of the bundle. The small figure was revealed to be a tiny girl with a mass of matted hair. Iago grinned maliciously down at the little girl and delivered a swift kick to her stomach. She wailed and writhed in pain.

"I told you. You come when you are called wretch!" bellowed the mage in fury. Gunter was appalled by the lack of regard that Iago had and while this was nothing new for him this was for certain an all time low as far as Gunter was concerned. Gunter placed himself between the child and the mage in an attempt to prevent any more harm to come to her.

"Iago, please explain this new position I'll be taking." Gunter inquired.

"There is little to explain, you babysit this wretch and ensure she kept in this fortress at all time no excuses, no exceptions. She is a daughter of the king. Do I make myself clear?"Iago taunted. Gunter shook his head, although there was still much he didn't fully understand in regards to the child put into his watch he had to fake it to shorten the time that he was in the room with her. Gunter couldn't stand seeing a child like that his parental instincts screamed to protect this girl from harm however if anyone knew the how the king dealt with deviants it was him. Now wasn't the time to reflect on the past and what could've been Gunter reminded himself. What mattered now was how to make the sadistic mage leave and to get things in order. Gunter nodded which seemed to be enough to make the mage head for the door.

"Ah yes," the mage turned to face Gunter "here in case the reject forgets her place" Iago handed Gunter a whip. Gunter could only nod and swallow down the ever-growing hate that he had for this man.

Later that week Iago left for Krakenberg which brought Gunter a huge relief. Not only was he gone from his side but he had no more chances to harm the little girl that had found her way into his care. That night Gunter vowed to protect this child and to love her as if she was his own. Nohrian life was harsh and cruel under that of King Garon's rule but if she must be isolated then maybe this would be a chance to change.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again, sorry it took so long to upload this but here it is. One thing before you read that I did want to mention is the lack of a name for the little girl, I have something in mind to reveal this so please stick with me until then. Wow over 100 views for this? This is so much more than I anticipated! Thank you to all those who read and a shout out to my one reviewer, friedkimchilover! I really appreciate the feedback so please keep it coming it helps me to know what you are thinking and potentially it can help me improve my writing skills! I look forward to it-Whisty

It had been a week since Iago left Gunter to adjust to his newfound position. The knight already had experience with leadership so that made most of his job easy, except one thing; the little girl had become his charge. She never spoke and she cowered in fear when anyone entered her tiny room. It was a painful sight. What happened to her? Why was she in this gods' forsaken place? Where was her mother? So many questions that Iago never bothered to answer, so many questions that ate at him. Possible answers swirled through knight's mind but as soon as an answer seemed to fit, the more holes came into his theories. He was grasping at straws. Gunter gazed down at the whip Iago gave him with guilt. How was that going to solve any of the girl's issues? She was already terrified of anything that moved let alone anything Iago could've ever had in store for her. No, punishing the child for circumstances she couldn't control was no way to go about and that and that was clear. He wracked his brain to try to come up with a solution. Then it came to him. While it was impossible to take the girl away from this wretched place, it was possible to use the whip.

The veteran set himself to work. He was proud with the result, a ball of leather. Gunter nervously climbed up the stairs leading to the girl's door. Slowly Gunter opened the door and rolled the ball into the room. The toy tumbled over to the girl and stopped by her leg. The unexpected intrusion startled her, causing her to scoot beneath her bed. He recalled how he met the child in the same spot; perhaps that spot made her feel more secure. Slowly the red-head crept up to the ball and cautiously nudged it in the direction it came. The ball rolled for a small distance but fell short of its' destination.

"Will you get it or shall I?" Gunter asked gently. The girl looked up at the man with fear in her eyes. As the knight took a step forward she took three back to support the distance. The veteran sighed internally "this will not be as easy as I first thought." He reached the leather bundle and rolled it over to her again. The next time it rolled to her she seemed less afraid but just as nervous. She looked at the knight carefully and rolled the ball back to him with more force than the last time. Gunter smiled as the plaything bounced into his lap.

"Good girl" he praised. The small redhead burst into tears. That was the absolute last thing the veteran expected or wanted for her. He went over to her and pulled her into an embrace to console the wailing child. Her entire frame shuck from her sobs and hiccups. It had been awhile since the man had dealt with children of this age but that didn't prevent his parental instinct from kicking in. He rubbed her back gently and spoke to her slowly. The child's crying tired her out until she nodded off in the knight's arms. Gunter carefully placed the child in bed and covered her with the thin cotton blanket she hid beneath before. Her reaction to his words bothered him. His praise meant to encourage so why did they cause her to cry? Was she the kind of young child to cry at the smallest thing or was it the first nice thing that someone had said to her all this time she had been here? Gunter didn't know the girl well enough to know the answer but what this did tell him that he needed to praise her more. He quietly left the room and closed the door behind himself careful not to disturb the child.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Hello people! Well I have finally gotten over a roadblock or two preventing me from writing this… Logic I blame you! But enough about what could've been and let's look at what is, no? The narrator here is young Xander. I had to switch it for spoiler reasons in revelations.

Father announced during breakfast one morning we were to go on a short small, trip. The thing that surprised me was his insistence on bringing along my half-sister and I, especially me. Father rarely brought me along anywhere especially since mother's death. The rest of that day had been a whirlwind around me as the servants moved about and I was prepared for the outing. I slipped into my own thoughts and found myself lost in them until the carriage lurched to a stop. Father got out and beckoned for us to follow behind him into the fortress ahead. From the outside it seemed smaller then the few other places I'd been to but the one thing that stuck out to me was its one tall tower that stretched far into the sky. The rest of the fortress itself seemed to have fallen into disrepair. Some bricks seemed to be missing and what was visible of the roof looked to have seen better days. We were ushered along into the inside of the fortress which seemed to be just as ignored as the exterior. This was an odd place to bring us. Why would our father bring us along to such a forsaken place? We came to the foyer of the building. It seemed to at one point have served as some sort of multi-purpose room. There we were greeted by a man in dull grey armour. He explained that the move he'd made to be here had run smoothly and there had been no issues to report. Father asked about someone who he referred to as "the girl" to whom the knight answered that she was not doing as well as he'd hoped and he hadn't gotten a single word out of her. Father motioned to Camilla and I while stating that we might be able to fix the issue. Who were they talking about? I wondered to myself. Again, we were asked to follow our father while the knight served as our guide. We went up a long flight of circular stairs that lead its way to the top of the tower and then we stopped before a large, foreboding, steel door. The man fumbled with the door for a moment and then it gave a solid ear-splitting screech. The sound of shuffling could be heard from inside the room. Both of us children looked first to the armoured man and then to father. Father nodded in response. We carefully entered the room which at first glance was practically empty except a small straw-filled cot and a box that might be considered a chest. The only light in the small, drafty room was from a small window that was too high up to look through. Movement caught the corner of my eye. I turned toward it and noticed a shaking bundle of cotton blankets. Was this the girl that the two spoke of? I turned around to ask father only to notice that he had left Camilla and I alone with the her. I looked to Camilla and looked back at me. No formal introduction, no explanations, nothing. We silently came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to introduce ourselves. Camilla, being better socially then I introduced herself first.

"My name is Princess Camilla of Nohr." Camilla explained. This only seemed to make the heap shift into a smaller shape. The look on Camilla's face was not a pleased one. She looked at me and elbowed my side. I knew what I had to do but knowing and doing are two separate things completely. Slowly I swallowed my own anxiety and began to follow suit.

"I a-am Xander…"I stuttered. Slowly a little head appeared from beneath the blankets, her large blue eyes looked at me nervously. Camilla gave me a befuddled expression. She moved her hand in a circular motion as if to say "keep going".

"Now y-you know w-who we are… w-who are y-you?"I asked. Just as quickly as the girl poked her head out, she pulled it back in.

"Hey! Stop that! Come out! We aren't here to harm you" Camilla huffed in frustration. The girl let out a small whimper.

"C-Camilla…perhaps y-you are b-being to f-forceful?" I asked.

"Perhaps… she did seem to come out for you" she sighed. "Do you by chance have a name, dear?" Camilla tried again. The bundle of blankets shook more forcefully this time.

"I'll take that as a no?"She asked. The pile seemed to nod.

"T-that's not going to d-do…"I murmured.

"Not at all…Well we can't really talk to you without a name, now can we or how would you know who I'm talking to? If you don't have one, we can name you!" She giggled. The red head emerged from her hiding place and looked at Camilla with her head tilted.

"Yes! I can't see why not, any suggestions, brother?"Camilla prodded. Naming someone was a task a lot seemed to go into. Not only was there preferences to keep in mind but there was the meaning of the name itself and the personality of who was to receive the name to take into account. It was a huge honor, not one I knew if I was ready for. However it wasn't something that could be left as is, to not have a name seemed almost a slap to the face which was nothing I would never wish to administer.

"Poppy?" I submitted. We looked at her for an opinion and by the way she scrunched up her face my guess was no.

"I'll take that as a no" giggled Camilla. "Luna? Oh! Or maybe Stella or Ruby!" Camilla rambled.

"Camilla not s-s-o many at once or it may b-be hard for her to clarify "I sighed. The girl's eyes seemed to light up at that moment.

"Clara fly?" the little girl asked softly.

Camilla looked at her and giggled. "Oh you're so cute!"She squealed. Camilla launched herself at the redhead and scooped her up into a hug. "Clara! What do you think?" Camilla asked. The girl nodded despite being squished in Camilla's arms. "Clara it is then! That's it! From now on I dub thee Clara" Pronounced Camilla. I couldn't help but laugh at the two before me. It had been a long time since I could remember laughing freely like that.

The door opened and in filed the knight, followed by father.

"What's all the commotion?" asked the armoured man. Camilla explained that we had found out her name. That revelation seemed to stun the man. He paused for a moment before smiling and thanking us for figuring it out. Soon the day began to come to a close and Camilla and I were to go home. Truth be told I was disappointed by this but now that I knew about this place and about Clara maybe I'd come back.


	4. Just a note of why I'm not posting

Hello everyone, Whisty here!

As you may have guessed this has been put on hiatus for a number of reasons. This does not mean that I have no plans to continue, in fact quite the opposite. I came across some info that made me have to rework some of the things in the chapters and chapter 4 is giving me a headache. I plan to rewrite this a bit and repost it as soon as I can. The rework will be close to what is here but different enough. This leaves me with a few questions: would you like me to leave this up and attempt to continue along with the other one? And what would you rather see a large multi chapter epic or a bunch of related stories that are shorter in length? Please let me help you! Either leave a review or pm me thank you in advance.

I apologize for the inconvenience


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